The Hand That Helps
by Tigressa101
Summary: Lennox returned the last shred of dignity Megatron had after the battle with Quintessa: his arm. Of course, the warlord's not one to show appreciation. (To Transformersfan2005)


**AN: Continuation of the short fic** _ **Hurt**_ **from** _ **Welcome to Hell**_ **per the request of Transformersfan2005.**

* * *

There was so much Energon he had lost within the last two Earth hours that the dizziness which followed seemed like it had been there all his life. A constant headache was inevitable but deactivation was not, not as long as he could help it. Then came Lennox and he managed to stop the bleeding as well as the pain but only briefly. A simple weld wouldn't fix his problem forever.

As he walked rather slowly with the human who had called in a few support teams to scout the battlefield littered with pieces of Cybertronian structures, he secretly wished he could just fly to his designation. His missing arm held components he needed in flight. Without it, his alt form was completely useless-well no, he had to take that back. He could still fly but he wouldn't get too far spinning uncontrollably and trying to keep his jet's nose up from turning into a fucked dive.

Since the wreckage of Quintessa's temporary refuge was not too far away, his limb was…somewhere among it. As much as he wanted to take his anger out on the present humans the more he thought about his arm, he refrained only because Will was beside him.

"Don't worry, we'll make you whole again," Lennox said kindly.

Megatron shot a look of wonder towards the human but the fleshling didn't notice it. He then scoffed in reply, "A patch job is one thing but actually attaching an entire arm is a bit more difficult. Are you really confident enough to perform this?"

The soldier shrugged, "Like I said, I was trained by Ratchet and currently the only medic available is Hound but since you tried to decapitate him, he ain't going to help for shit. The question should be: are you trustworthy enough to let me try so you have a chance at getting your arm back or would you rather be an amputee for the rest of your life? Considering you don't appreciate the disabled apparently like I do, I'm guessing your answer might be the former?"

What choice did he have? He was what the humans referred to as right-handed, meaning he did most things with his right limb including using his weapons. It would be his ire if he had to struggle to relearn every one of his signature moves because they couldn't find his arm or at least build an adequate replacement.

"Colonel Lennox! Lord Megatron!" A human voice sounded behind them as a vehicle pulled up beside Lennox.

When both Lennox and Megatron paused, the man in uniform immediately handed a tablet to his superior officer. Will took a brief second to scan it over and what he found made his brows shoot up happily.

He smirked, "Guess what my boys found!"

The tyrant gave him a rather bored expression in response but he could tell the mech was interested.

"I do hope you are prepared for some on-the-dot surgery because your arm is in prime condition and is being hooked up to a truck as we speak!"

He caught a hidden glimpse of relief from the warlord.

* * *

Since the President deemed the TRF "unconstitutional", whatever that meant now and days, most of their resources were cut off including medical repairs for the Decepticons when they were still under the alliance with the military. This meant the operation to reattach Megatron's arm would have to be under the radar as well as have the missing parts such as joints stolen from dead Cybertronian bodies.

Megatron lied back upon a berth they used to have in the former Autobot Base in Washington D.C. It was safe to say Lennox had also pilfered it back from the government after all the base's items had been confiscated around the time Optimus and the Autobots were declared enemies. Stealing these items over the course of three years was one hell of a chore. Too bad Optimus himself didn't remember them.

A small crane brought the severed arm to rest in the position it was needed beside the Cybertronian. Several cables were removed that were pumping Energon into its veins to keep it from sustaining internal corrosion. Will doubted Megatron would be happy about an infection so soon after he gained his limb back.

Lennox had dressed in an impersonation of a slightly torn military medical suit just so he didn't get Energon on any favored outfits; this one was expendable as Energon had a reputation be irremovable from clothing like preservatives on fabrics. He unheeded the stare he was getting from the warlord who was locked onto the rips upon his thighs, arms, and side which exposed very small portions of skin sans his waist that was large but he had a shirt on under it.

Reviewing the clipboard that contained notes on the Cybertronian endoskeleton layout and part placement, Will tapped his fingers against the paper in thought. "Alright, we have everything set up now and I have Ratchet's notes on the common types of anatomy so what do you think? Still think I can't do it?"

"Yes."

A deadpanned scowl drifted upon Lennox's face. "Thanks for the confidence boost. So anyway, do you wish to be put in stasis or…?"

Megatron sighed, "I'd rather not in case you mess up. I can also handle the pain, remember?"

"Uh-huh…fine, whatever," the human replied as he threw up his hands in defeat.

Two assistants of his watched with utmost concern as Will dawned goggles and a mouth mask in case sparks or Energon flew up. They were afraid Megatron would lash out at the Colonel if he performed one wrong move. But if anything, Lennox was the least worried. It had been proven time and time again Megatron would not kill him. Besides, if all else failed they could kidnap and force Hound to comply.

Will began the procedure as he grabbed his equipment, oblivious to the heavy monitoring by Megatron as well as the curious stares from the other soldiers.

Unaware to him, his patient felt flickers of pain as to be expected but he was too brash to say a thing when one cut nearly made him jerk. Sometimes he reviled his own haughtiness. It was worse that he could also feel every tweak of wiring, every movement of internal components being reattached, and every nerve from his arm twitching as they were reconnected. This was very strange to be able to feel each digit come back online independently. Humans couldn't do that, of course, but his kind could although he had never experienced it himself.

There was a sliver of fear that shot through him. What if one of the cabling was hooked up to the wrong output? What if his circuits automatically snapped to attention completely while calibrating the newly joined limb and fried Lennox? Medical Minicons had actually gone offline via electrocution by touching a limb or wound while the patient's system awoke at full capacity to repair the severed parts. He wanted his damn arm back but he didn't want to lose his pet.

He turned his helm away from his operation in deep thought.

That time Lennox did manage to see a type of reaction from the mech which caused him to pause. "Are you okay?"

Megatron found himself startled by the sudden voice and hastily replied, "Hmm? Oh y-yeah, I'm fine. Just something…bad came to mind when I was thinking about…having a chat with my brother. Continue your work, fleshling. This arm isn't going to repair itself."

Nearly an hour it took for the right parts to be placed and molded together. Finally, Will scrubbed the excess Energon and marks off of the area he had just fixed and stood up, proud of his deed. Upon seeing how the soldier did, the mech would be lying if he said he didn't like the human's wonderful job he performed on his limb. It actually appeared like Ratchet had rebuilt it. That was definitely a compliment any medic would dream of getting. Ratchet was the best doctor he had ever seen and it seems he had passed his skills to the dear Colonel. Marvelous!

Slowly, Megatron began to move his fingers in sync. So far so good. As he sat up, he was careful not to lift his arm creaked slightly. Pain shot through his systems every time he moved it an inch as to be expected, but he embraced the pain to test its mobility. Flexing was included as he made sure everything was responding. He eventually stopped as his facial features were beginning to betray him. The human did a damn good job, he'd give him that.

He wanted to hug Will or kiss him but against his true intentions, he simply got up and gave a small nod. His pet didn't seem very happy with that but returned his nod but before he could turn to leave, he heard Lennox clear his throat.

"You should probably keep that arm in a sling for a few weeks so it's not moving by your side constantly. After all, all that movement might bring loose a bolt or cause waves of agony without proper healing time," the soldier said.

A second of hesitation washed over the tyrant but he did agree. It was better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

Days turned to weeks and the sling his arm rested in wasn't needed anymore. There were still times a nerve or two would flare if he moved too quickly but other than that everything was in working order. He even could turn into his jet mode with no problems whatsoever. Every piece twisted and positioned correctly so it was safe to say he was fixed.

He did note Will wasn't as responsive to him as he was almost a month prior. It was strange to say the least. Had the surgery brought some sort of insight to the human and he suddenly didn't feel comfortable around him? The behavior wasn't gratifying for him; he wanted to be among the same snarky, eager-to-impress Colonel Lennox he loved to mess with. What the hell did he overlook?

Then it dawned on him: he never thanked the human for repairing his limb. Lennox wasn't avoiding him because of a realization, he was staying clear because he felt underappreciated for his efforts. A mass flood of guilt fell over the mech. Usually this wasn't a problem with his Decepticons but humans were more emotional towards others' reactions and when you create a relationship with a human, it really was upsetting to find you may have broken their spirits because of something that was failed to be said.

Megatron rubbed his faceplates with his servos ashamed of his blunder. He must have been caught up in the moment for him to miss the hint. Scowling at himself, he ran to the warehouse where Lennox was currently sorting through the recovered materials found at the sites of Cybertron's pieces hitting the surface of Earth. He paced accordingly when Will gave him a rather sour expression but tried to play it off.

"How may I help you, my Lord?"

The way he spoke the title made the warmonger cringe. This was already off to a great start.

"I…um…I wish to say I'm thankful for what you did. Helping me find my arm and volunteering to fix it was something else. I mean it truly means a lot to me that you took the time to do all that," Megatron muttered.

Lennox raised a brow, "And…?"

The tyrant continued, "And I also wish to say I'm sorry for not saying it outright then. I'm not used to such gestures that I overlooked it. But just so you know, you're one of the best damn medics I've had the honor of being under the care of. Ratchet would be proud."

"You really mean that?"

Nodding, the mech sat down cross legged beside his human. "You are something special, Lennox. It's a shame the Autobots couldn't see it from the moment you fought Blackout in Mission City."

The soldier immediately climbed onto his servo and brought his helm down to cradle it. A wave of heat and relief hit the warlord as he purred. If this was his reward for true appreciation, he should be more honest. Then again, words didn't exactly describe his feelings in the way he wanted but perhaps something else later on could.

Lennox kissed his nose and smirked, "That means a lot to me, Megatron, in more ways than one. All I wanted was to hear that."

* * *

 **AN(2): Appreciation goes a long way. Some of us take it for granted which can cost us more than our karma. Show a bit and you will be as valuable as gold.**


End file.
